


The Power of Three

by audiograms



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Meta, Mixed Media, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-08
Packaged: 2017-12-07 16:49:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/750784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/audiograms/pseuds/audiograms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reality vs Perception and how it's presented in 8x18 Freaks and Geeks and the effect on Team Free Will.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Power of Three

# Supernatural 8x18 Freaks and Geeks 

  


OK I’ve recently been quite pissed off at the Supernatural writers, however in this episode they really delivered everything I’ve been wanting from them. They gave us a Black character that managed to stay alive the whole episode without being possessed, overtly sexual or  killed. We got back  to Sam and Dean being, well, Sam and Dean. There was faithful adherence to Supernatural lore, as well as insight in to how the hunting lifestyle affects other hunters. 

We have the classic Dean trying to protect Sam, and get him to open up about the effect the trials are having on him. Sam in deflecting away from it tries to get Dean to talk about his encounter with Cas-the shipper in me reads it as Sam trying to get Dean to talk about his feelings for Cas- as Dean is someone with major trust issues and the one person other than Sam he’s trusted to never hurt him and to have is back is/was Cas, who though under the influence of Naomi, did recently attempt to kill him . Of course Dean is allergic to ‘big girly moments’ so it doesn’t last long. It’s nice to see that the writers took on board the complaints that the focus wasn’t on them as brothers and after all Supernatural isn’t Supernatural without that dynamic.

I'm a little disappointed they didn't use this moment as an opportunity to maybe explore the role Sam's Demon powers may play into his trials, intro some ideas about why he's getting ill, however season gr8 is all about reality v perception so what isn't talked about is just as important.

The look when Dean sees baby hunters? Yeah that one? We see that look a lot this episode, congratulations on your acting, Jensen, you’ve come a  long way from Days of our Lives.

 We see Krissy being what I imagine a young Dean to be like, sure of herself, streetwise and cocksure. Krissy is driven, determined to not only live up to the the bar she’s set herself but, also like Dean, to avenge the memory of her father. Supernatural uses the parallel technique a lot to give us character insights or to confirm traits we already know, as well as sometimes letting us know what's going on off screen. I think Krissy is definitely Dean in the trio of young hunters, she might not be the eldest age wise, but she has the most hunting experience. 

Again, we have parallels between Krissy and the Winchesters, here is where I have my first real critique of the episode. The writers could have used this to give Josephine more screen time. They’re family, and Josephine, could totally of been the Sam-esque computer wiz to Krissy’s kick ass brawn and Aidan of course being the Cas-like dorky but not-so-secretly awesome love interest ~~what stop looking at me like that I am a Destiel shipper.~~ We got the whole Dean/Cas thing with Krissy and Aidan but they decided to give Krissy Sam’s qualities too, and after all Josephine lost her whole family and is the reason for her and Krissy being thrown together, so they could have easily used that to help flesh out her character. They really missed a golden opportunity.

Another thing I really loved about this episode is that the writers are continuing the family theme with Sam. I mean the more he has to close the gates of Hell, the more he’s confronted with the normality he’s always craved. I think that as we get closer to the trials being completed the more poor Sam is going to be put through the emotional turmoil of not having a relationship or family outside of Dean, but that he'll come to find he is actually not as dependent on relationships as Dean. We see Krissy being outspoken about being independent, and not trusting others, and yet depending on Victor as a father figure and Aidan and Josephine as family she can share the hunting life with. The others don't seem as emotionally invested until after Victor's betrayal is revealed.

Using the parallel of the young hunters and Team Free Will, we also see how they deal with the betrayal of Victor, it gives us insight into how Sam and Dean may be feeling about Castiel. Remember, Supernatural often uses parallels to show us what has happened off screen, and I doubt the Winchesters didn't have any emotional moments despite the scene in the Impala that says otherwise- again it's reality v perception.

I struggled for a bit to see who, if anyone Victor paralleled in the equation, but personally I think he is Naomi. Why? Naomi brainwashed Castiel forcing him to kill Samanderiel, and manipulate the Winchesters 'for the greater good' just as Victor believed tricking the young hunters into killing Vampires to get closure would help them become better hunters for the war he believed was coming. Like Naomi he was primarily a warrior, making decisions influenced by the family he lost. Victor also made a deal with the very enemy he was fighting to defeat, similarly Naomi is seen to be sharing information with Crowley. That the young hunters help defeat Victor, may be foreshadowing a showdown between Team Free Will and Naomi.

Clips courtesy of **ChairStelenaDelena**


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